King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has endorsed a recommendation to cancel the stipulation demanding residence proof by female applicants for jobs in the Ministry of Education. The cancellation of the condition will be effective from 2012. He also directed transportation authorities to take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of passengers. “The cancellation of the residence proof has become an imperative in the wake of the royal order to create 52,000 jobs in the Ministry of Education so that all women applicants get fair employment opportunities,” Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah said while thanking the king for the order.
A committee comprising representatives of the ministries of interior, education and civil service, and the Control and Investigation Bureau had submitted a report to the king recommending the removal of the residence stipulation for women’s employment in schools. However, no such condition was stipulated for men’s employment. The Education Ministry had earlier made it a condition that a woman employee should be a resident of the same locality where she would be taking up her job.